Bees for Development Journal 139 June 2021
BOOKSHELF Keeping bees simply and respectfully Johannes Wirz and Norbert Poeplau 2021 172 pages Softcover This excellent new book details a current, up to date and thoughtful approach to beekeeping. Mellifera e. V. is an association in Germany that works for bees, nature and humans. Over many years of study, observation and teaching, the association arrived at good beekeeping methods underpinned by the belief that honey bee colonies must be allowed to swarm and to mate naturally, and to live on their own, natural combs. To enable beekeeping in this way, the association advocates the use of the Golden Hive, a movable frame hive that provides optimal living conditions for honey bees, enabling them to build their own comb, and to swarm, while enabling people to live near to bees and to harvest from them. The feature which most distinguishes the Golden Hive from others is that while it contains frames, foundation* is never introduced to the hive: instead, the bees are allowed to build their own natural, elliptical combs. The horizontal hive consists of one cavity (not split into separate parts as in modular frame hives), and the brood nest and storage area are easily expanded without major disturbance to the bees. With clear explanations and an abundance of illustrations and good diagrams, this new text now makes this excellent beekeeping system widely available to beekeepers in the Englishspeaking world. In Germany, beekeepers are still required by law to treat their bees to manage the Varroa mite, and the text still advocates this approach, while acknowledging that it was a mistake for Germany to have taken this ‘chemical route’. With its excellent and clear explanations, this new book can be followed by beginner beekeepers and provides plentiful and interesting food for thought for experienced beekeepers too. *Foundation is the hexagon-embossed, rectangular sheet of beeswax conventionally provided within frames
A lively hive – a biodynamic beekeeping guide for honeybee health Alex Tuchman 2021 200 pages Softcover Another encouraging and fresh book about simple and sustainable beekeeping. Spikenard Farm Honeybeee Sanctuary in Virginia, USA was founded by Gunther and Vivian Hauk in 2007 to research into biodynamic beekeeping and teach practices that consider the needs of the honey bee above everything else. This text is written for beginners and describes a biodynamic approach applied to the use of Langstroth hives, which are the most commonly used style of frame hives in North America. A very helpful and interesting, practical guide.
Good Nutrition Good Bees David Aston & Sally Bucknall 2021 423 pages Softcover This a large paperback book, bursting with facts about honey bees and beekeeping in the British Isles. The central theme is the importance of providing bees with good nutrition, and how we must ensure this for the future. However the text covers far more than this – it contains 62 sections, the first third covering apicultural history, fundamentals of the superorganism, its biology and physiology with respect to nutrition, the nutrients that bees need, honey bee health and diseases, the second third focussing on the floral sources and how bees acquire their nutrition from them, and the final sections devoted to beekeepers’ feeding of honey bee colonies and whether or how best to do this. This book is very clearly laid out with a comprehensive index, is completely up-to-date with current research on honey bee nutrition, is packed full of reliable information and data, and will be of interest and value to beekeepers far beyond the UK. Very highly recommended for readers who need to be well informed about honey bees’ requirements. 17
